Five staffers with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees have been killed in Gaza because of Israeli airstrikes in the last 24 hours, the agency said in an update.

"UNRWA received confirmation that another four colleagues were killed in strikes earlier in late October. This brings the total number of confirmed UNRWA colleagues killed to 88 and at least another 25 injured since the hostilities began," it said.

A UNRWA staffer was seriously injured as a result of a strike that hit her home, killing her husband and three children, the agency said.

All told, 48 UNRWA locations or installations have been damaged since Oct. 7.

"Almost 1.5 million people have been displaced across the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Nearly half (717,000) are sheltering in 149 UNRWA installations across all five governorates of Gaza, including in the north," the agency said.

Families and friends of Israeli hostages who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 protested outside the Knesset in Jerusalem and called on the government to do more to bring them home.

Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu today discussed "the possibility of tactical pauses" to allow for safe civilian departures from "areas of ongoing fighting" in Gaza, the White House said in a statement.

The goal would also be "to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases." No additional information about what a tactical pause would entail was provided.

"The President reiterated his steadfast support for Israel and the protection of Israeli citizens from Hamas and all other threats while also emphasizing the imperative to protect Palestinian civilians and reduce civilian harm in the course of military operations," the statement read.

Biden also mentioned ongoing settler violence in the West Bank and "the need to hold extremist settlers accountable for violent acts," it said.

TEL AVIV — The families of 240 hostages were notified of their detainment by Hamas, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

The families of 348 IDF members who died in battle were also notified, Hagari said.

Hagari said the IDF has eliminated "a number" of Hamas members in the last few hours and senior field commanders in the last day.

People flee after strikes on a neighborhood in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip today.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for the protection of medical facilities and personnel as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates.

The ICRC accompanied a convoy of four ambulances that took patients from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to the Rafah crossing border with Egypt today.

“It is an immense relief to know that these patients are safe and will receive urgent medical care,” said William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC office in Gaza. “I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is that hospitals, medical personnel, and patients are protected amid this violence. There are thousands of critically injured people in Gaza. It is an obligation under international humanitarian law to spare them from harm.” 

The ICRC is calling on "the parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and do everything in their power to avoid any harm to medical facilities, vehicles, and personnel," according to a statement.

“Accepting violence against healthcare facilities, now when their role is so critical, will come at an unacceptable cost in human life,” Schomburg said. “The wounded and sick must be protected in all circumstances.”

Representatives of the families of Hamas’ hostages met with the leaders of the opposition, including Mansour Abbas, the chairman of the Ra’am party. The meeting at the Knesset was also attended by the opposition chairman, Yair Lapid, and the head of the Labor Party, Merav Michaeli.

Bases in Iraq and Syria with U.S. personnel have been attacked at least 10 times since Thursday, bringing the total number of attempted attacks on U.S. targets in the region since Oct. 17 to 38, according to three U.S. defense officials.

The officials say most of the attacks have come via one-way drones and rockets, and there have not been any new U.S. casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Most of the newest attacks occurred yesterday and today, according to U.S. officials.

At least 19 of the 38 attacks against U.S. targets have come since the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes on two Iranian-linked targets in Syria on Oct. 26.

Before they retaliated, U.S. and coalition forces had been attacked repeatedly in Iraq and Syria, according to defense officials.

The U.S. defines attacks as attempted strikes on U.S. facilities. Not all attempts actually reach the U.S. targets. 

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Defense Department press secretary, said on Oct. 24 that the groups conducting the attacks are supported by Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“We always reserve the right to defend ourselves, and we will never hesitate to take action when needed to protect our forces and our interests overseas,” he said.

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Outside the Knesset in Jerusalem today, friends and relatives of those held hostage by Hamas called on the government to do more to bring their loved ones home.